iChat - horrible video quality on a MacBook Pro

Question

mekintosz Author

Level 1

0 points

iChat - horrible video quality on a MacBook Pro

Hi!

I have three laptops at home

- Early 2011 MacBook Pro 15" Hi-Res Antiglare with 2GHz i7, 8GB of RAM, 6490m, 120GB Vertex3 SSD and OSX 10.7.2

- Late 2006 MacBook Pro 15" with 2.33GHz C2D, 2.5GB of RAM, X1600XT with 256MB VRAM and 320GB HDD and OSX 10.6.8

- Revision E PowerBook G4 Hi-Res 1.67GHz with 128MB of VRAM, 2GB RAM, 120GB HDD, external iSight and OSX 10.4.11

I was using the last two with iChat with totally no problem, but recently I started using the newest one and I have a big problem with the video quality.

Caliing from 2011MBP to PB G4 on my home ADSL (20Mbit down, 1.5Mbit up), I get a really good quality picture on MBP, but picture from the MBP itself is in really low resolution. The same situation happens if I call from PB to MBP - always the quality from MBP is awful. I was also caling the Late 2006MBP which my dad is using at work with 7.2Mbit HSDPA connection, and once again - I can see him really good, while he can see really blurry and pixelated picture, no matter who starts the call.

Just to illustrate:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/45927070/MacBook.png - this is how I can see myself 🙂 on MacBook (the picture comes from PowerBook's external iSight).

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/45927070/PowerBook.png - and this is how I can see myself on the PowerBook (the picture comes from MacBook's FaceTime HD)

Oh, and obviously the "Bandwidth limit" in iChat's preferences is set to "None".

Anybody can help?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2), HiRAG, 8GB, 120GB Vertex3, i7 2GHz

Posted on Nov 14, 2011 9:37 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 14, 2011 1:11 PM in response to mekintosz

HI,

The first pic with the yellowish glow (which you seem to say is an incoming pic from an External iSight and iChat 3 ?) is a poor light issue.

The second pic which seems to show the reverse of that chat.

As the Pic-in-Pic here is enhanced with iGlasses it is difficult to say what is going on.

It looks like the Picture is set for some low light conditions (Hence the graininess and yellow tint)

As it is already in low light it would seem the new 2011 computer is in the same low light and you are seeing the effects of that (without iGlasses).

9:11 PM Monday; November 14, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 2

mekintosz Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 14, 2011 1:45 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Nope, iGlasses is not the problem here - I'm using this app to enchance the picture quality from the external iSight, because on stock settings in such light conditions the image from ex. iSight is too dark to see anything (i.e the picture from external iSight in the same light conditions is a lot darker than from the built in).

But my problem is not the grainess, and other things made by low light conditions, but the picture resolution - the image coming from the 2011 MBP is a lot more blurry (and the image from old PB is not enchanced by iGlasses in this way - as I said iGlasses are only used to enchance brightness, nothing else) so it has lower resolution (it is clear in these pictures).

I've noticed that if I make a chat between those computers like in the example above and play around with "bandwidth limit" option in iChat, reducing the bandwidth on Powerbook does affect the image quality (it gets worse with decrasing the limit), but on Macbook it doesnt - the picture looks like with the bandwidth limit set to 100, and increasing it doesnt help at all - it is sitll blurry and low res.

So to clarify - first picture shows how the image from PowerBook looks like and how the one from MacBook should look like (except the fact that i'm in move the image is in "high" resolution and it's sharp), while the second shows how the image from MacBook looks like(like on very low bandwidth, even though the bandwidth is pretty high).

That's the image from PowerBook as seen on the MacBook:

And that's the image from MacBook as I see it on PowerBook:

Once again - both are on the same network with firewall etc. turned off and ports unlocked, and the bandwidth limit is set to "none" on both. And both OSes are both clean installs.

Reply

Answer 3

Nov 14, 2011 2:05 PM in response to mekintosz

Hi,

We are talking about two vastly different cameras here.

The External iSight has a resolution of only 640 X 480 Pixels where as the "Face Time" Internal camera is a HD model (although ichat still only uses 640 x 480 pixels).

The External has Auto Focus whereas the internal does not.

My new iMac has the camera "flush" with the bevel of the screen surround making it prone to fingerprints and smudges.

My MacBook Pro which is a version 1.1 with the original Internal iSight Camera has a small dip into the lens but as a laptop is prone to fingers being placed there.

I would look to exclude surface "grime" of one sort or another over the lens area.

Mostly it would appear to be about focal length.

My iMac's Pic

more pronounced

10:05 PM Monday; November 14, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 4

mekintosz Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 14, 2011 9:43 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Well I'm a tech-person and trust me - of ot would be dirty lens I would solve this problem long time ago. It's also not the lack of focus - the image is blurry regardless of placement of the objects in front of the camera - it's missing details like in the two pictures above - the resolution from internat iSight is a lot lower during video chat than from external. To proof that I can upload later the same picture from the internal iSight of 2011MB taken with PhotoBooth (or any other app) and the same picture as seen on PowerBook during video chat.

The problem is that the iChat on Macbook definetly limits the resolution to a really low one while the PowerBook deosn't (and neither the 2006 MacBook).

Reply

Answer 5

mekintosz Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 15, 2011 9:27 AM in response to mekintosz

Oh, and to make things even more complicated, here's my iChat log, where everything seems to be fine:

180222.772104 -registerForHardwareNotification: 1 devices

180222.780837 ER_AddFilter (0): Adding [Artur Ziejewski@127.0.0.1]->[0]

180222.780866 setLocalUserName: Artur Ziejewski@127.0.0.1

180222.785771 Default video size is (640 x 480)

180222.789544 H264: (640 x 480) @ 30 fps

180222.791225 H264: (320 x 240) @ 30 fps

180222.792963 H263: (352 x 288) @ 30 fps

180222.793847 H263: (176 x 144) @ 30 fps

180222.793909 ######################################

180222.793914 # SoundDec_Create(16000 --> 3) #

180222.793918 ######################################

180222.819511 Leaving SoundDec_Create

180222.822509 Audio Unit Parameter List = 7, result = 0

180222.822527 CurrentFormatmSampleRate 44100.000000

180222.822535 CurrentFormatmFormatID lpcm

180222.822538 CurrentFormatmFormatFlags 0x00000029

180222.822541 CurrentFormatmBytesPerPacket 4

180222.822544 CurrentFormatmFramesPerPacket 1

180222.822547 CurrentFormatmBytesPerFrame 4

180222.822550 CurrentFormatmChannelsPerFrame 2

180222.822552 CurrentFormatmBitsPerChannel 32

180222.822555 OurFormatmSampleRate 16000.000000

180222.822559 OurFormatmFormatID lpcm

180222.822561 OurFormatmFormatFlags 0x00000029

180222.822564 OurFormatmBytesPerPacket 4

180222.822567 OurFormatmFramesPerPacket 1

180222.822569 OurFormatmBytesPerFrame 4

180222.822572 OurFormatmChannelsPerFrame 1

180222.822574 OurFormatmBitsPerChannel 32

180222.822581 Reached err = 4294956417, 459

180222.822585 Reached err = 4294956417, 467

180222.823829 ### NEW STATE: to: VC_INIT, from: VC_INVALID

180222.823866 ### NEW STATE: to: VC_IDLE, from: VC_INIT

180222.823878 ++++++++++ confStatusMapRemoveAll

180222.823883 ( ) -- mapUserIDToSecurityInfo cleared --

180222.824532 dispatch_CommNATProc

180222.827101 VCDelegate conforms to VideoConferenceDelegate protocol.

180222.827106 VTPRecvProc thread(255393792) started...

180222.827299 SIPManager init with protocol: 0.

180222.827990 183 routing table entries found.

180222.828005 IPv4 DEFAULT route, if_idx:4

180222.828393 1 interfaces found.

180222.828462 VTP set fd(10) buf size send[9216->225000] recv[42080->225000]

180222.828540 Start listening on 192.168.1.101:16402(en1) sock 100

180222.828553 1 valid interfaces found.

180222.828591 Transport(UDP) Thread start...

180222.828813 183 routing table entries found.

180222.828821 IPv4 DEFAULT route, if_idx:4

180222.829219 Transport checking map for interface = en1, port = 16402

180222.829253 [0]Creating a port mapping from on interface 0 from external port 56919 to local port16402...

180222.829399 TPListen on port 16402

180222.829449 dispatch_AcquireSNATMAPConfigurationProc

180222.873822 Found 1 cameras:

180222.873880 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180222.873911 selectedCamera: no camera has been set yet.

180222.873934 selectCameraByGUID: 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101) returned 0

180222.873943 selectCameraWithCMIODeviceID: 0x101 returned 1

180222.884792 Microphone devices:

180222.885338 Internal microphone

180222.885818 Line In

180222.886709 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180222.886897 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180222.887383 Selected mic: Built-in Microphone / imic

180222.956058 Found 1 cameras:

180222.956120 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180222.956155 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180222.956174 selectCameraByGUID: 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101) returned 0

180222.956181 selectCameraWithCMIODeviceID: 0x101 returned 1

180222.956493 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180222.956748 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180222.957159 Selected mic: Built-in Microphone / imic

180222.964218 in callback

180222.964233 -sdRef 0x7f829c07ef70 ?

180222.964238 -flags = 00000000

180222.964288 -IFIndex en1 ?

180222.964295 -errorCode == 00000000

180222.964302 -publicAddr == 77.254.241.55

180222.964307 -proto == 16

180222.964311 -privPort == 16402

180222.964316 -publPort == 56919

180222.964320 -ttl == 7200

180222.978892 SNATMAP Configuration: snatmap.mac.com:5678

180223.247621 Found 1 cameras:

180223.247753 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.248347 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.248750 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.249203 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.251248 vcCapabilitiesOfCPU returns: 0x000f0fff

180223.251412 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

180223.251441 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

180223.251448 videoNetworkCapable: 1 -- 3 max participants.

180223.251454 audioNetworkCapable: 1 -- 9 max participants.

180223.251460 Supports PCMU wideband for audio: 1 / video: 1

180223.253140 vcCapabilitiesOfNetwork returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.253156 vcCapabilitiesOfRouter returns: 0x00000000

180223.253161 vcCapabilities returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.253270 Found 1 cameras:

180223.253333 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.253831 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.254295 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.255187 Selected microphone is Internal microphone.

180223.256634 vcCapabilitiesOfCPU returns: 0x000f0fff

180223.256753 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

180223.256773 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

180223.256779 videoNetworkCapable: 1 -- 3 max participants.

180223.256783 audioNetworkCapable: 1 -- 9 max participants.

180223.256788 Supports PCMU wideband for audio: 1 / video: 1

180223.258097 vcCapabilitiesOfNetwork returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.258108 vcCapabilitiesOfRouter returns: 0x00000000

180223.258113 vcCapabilities returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.259305 vcCapabilitiesOfCPU returns: 0x000f0fff

180223.259401 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

180223.259420 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

180223.259424 videoNetworkCapable: 1 -- 3 max participants.

180223.259428 audioNetworkCapable: 1 -- 9 max participants.

180223.259432 Supports PCMU wideband for audio: 1 / video: 1

180223.260464 vcCapabilitiesOfNetwork returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.260472 vcCapabilitiesOfRouter returns: 0x00000000

180223.260476 vcCapabilities returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.260536 Found 1 cameras:

180223.260582 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.260925 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.261093 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.261396 Found 1 cameras:

180223.261439 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.261471 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.261492 selectCameraByGUID: 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101) returned 0

180223.261498 selectCameraWithCMIODeviceID: 0x101 returned 1

180223.261713 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.261932 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.262286 Selected mic: Built-in Microphone / imic

180223.262779 Found 1 cameras:

180223.262819 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.262850 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.262865 selectCameraByGUID: 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101) returned 0

180223.262871 selectCameraWithCMIODeviceID: 0x101 returned 1

180223.263061 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.263268 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.263699 Selected mic: Built-in Microphone / imic

180223.265072 vcCapabilitiesOfCPU returns: 0x000f0fff

180223.265168 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

180223.265185 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

180223.265189 videoNetworkCapable: 1 -- 3 max participants.

180223.265192 audioNetworkCapable: 1 -- 9 max participants.

180223.265195 Supports PCMU wideband for audio: 1 / video: 1

180223.266107 vcCapabilitiesOfNetwork returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.266116 vcCapabilitiesOfRouter returns: 0x00000000

180223.266119 vcCapabilities returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.266186 Found 1 cameras:

180223.266224 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.266556 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.266869 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.267384 Selected microphone is Internal microphone.

180223.268405 vcCapabilitiesOfCPU returns: 0x000f0fff

180223.268486 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

180223.268500 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

180223.268504 videoNetworkCapable: 1 -- 3 max participants.

180223.268508 audioNetworkCapable: 1 -- 9 max participants.

180223.268510 Supports PCMU wideband for audio: 1 / video: 1

180223.269428 vcCapabilitiesOfNetwork returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.269438 vcCapabilitiesOfRouter returns: 0x00000000

180223.269442 vcCapabilities returns: 0x000a0fff

180223.269509 Found 1 cameras:

180223.269552 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

180223.269894 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.270162 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

180223.270672 Selected microphone is Internal microphone.

180237.831555 Comm reporting flags: 000000D0

180238.000450 CommNAT result:

External IP: xx.xxx.xxx.xx

External Ports: 16403, 16403, 16403

CNAT_BADTEST ....... 0

CNAT_ISFULLCONE .... 0

CNAT_ISPAT ......... 0

CNAT_ISPATHOST ..... 0

CNAT_TRYPRESERVE ... 1

CNAT_PATINORDER .... 0

CNAT_BLOCKIP ....... 1

CNAT_BLOCKPORT ..... 1

CNAT_LOOPBACK ...... 0

180238.001204 183 routing table entries found.

180238.001239 IPv4 DEFAULT route, if_idx:4

It's just the fact that on the other computers (PowerBook and MBP) the recived video's resolution is really low (like 80x80 pixels), while video res from them (or between them) is just fine

/EDIT

And here's the log after starting a conversation:

182016.843749 MULTIPOINT VC_API: startConferenceWithUserID: xxxxxx.xx

182016.843774 VC_API: startConferenceWithIndex: 0

182016.843814 Remote User Agent: Viceroy 1.2

182016.843831 Enable active bwd: 0

182016.843839 upstream_kbits = 2292, downstream_kbits = 2292

182016.844930 Local size: (640 x 480) @ 30 fps, based on bitrate: 2292

182016.845855 Best framerate not found. Downgraded to (160 x 120) @ 30 fps

182016.845866 Conference_SetBitrate: 2292000

182016.845872 SetBitrate from 2292000 to 2292000 - calculated (1339440)

182016.845876 Conference_SetFramerate: 30

182016.845879 Diffusion prefilter disabled

182016.845883 Temporal prefilter disabled

182016.845887 Enabled H264 post processing with mode: 1

182016.846967 Speaker: callback thread: STANDARD; EXTENDED timeshare: 0; PRECEDENCE importance: 17

182016.847007 Speaker: null device thread: STANDARD; EXTENDED timeshare: 0; PRECEDENCE importance: 17

182016.848383 =================== ActiveCount += 1

182016.848392 Conference_RecvThread start

182016.848403 setPeerToPeerInfoInMapForUserID: xxxxxx.xx, payload = 126, (160 x 120)

182016.848430 Set video format - payload: 126 size: (160 x 120) fComposite:0

182016.848438 SetBitrate from 2292000 to 2292000 - calculated (229040)

182016.848442 =========== StartTransmit!

182016.848445 ######################################

182016.848448 # SoundDec_Create(8000 --> 3) #

182016.848451 ######################################

182016.848589 Leaving SoundDec_Create

182016.848626 MediaQueueSendProc Thread start...

182016.851196 TRANSMIT to xxxxxx.xx: 192.168.1.107:16386:16384 hardwareframe:30 determinedframe: 30 key:-1 determinedbitrate: 2292

182016.851215 ### NEW STATE: to: VC_BUSY, from: VC_SIGNALED

182016.851230 AGC = 1

182016.851238 [[** MTHelper - Set_RemoteUserAgent]] [ConfIndex 0][CallID 1][RemoteUA = Viceroy 1.2][Non-SL]

182016.851244 MULTIPOINT VC_API: startConferenceWithUserID: xxxxx.xx returns YES

182016.865222 vcCapabilitiesOfCPU returns: 0x000f0fff

182016.865336 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

182016.865350 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

182016.865354 videoNetworkCapable: 1 -- 3 max participants.

182016.865358 audioNetworkCapable: 1 -- 9 max participants.

182016.865361 Supports PCMU wideband for audio: 1 / video: 1

182016.866260 vcCapabilitiesOfNetwork returns: 0x000a0fff

182016.866269 vcCapabilitiesOfRouter returns: 0x00004000

182016.866272 vcCapabilities returns: 0x000a4fff

182016.866358 Found 1 cameras:

182016.866412 FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) - 0xfa20000005ac8509 (0x101, 0x504)

182016.866808 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

182016.867190 selectedCamera2 GUID returned FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

182016.867726 Selected microphone is Internal microphone.

182018.765401 RTP: recv started(AB4ACED7,AB4ACED7)

182018.765422 RTPTransport: need to wait for SRTP to init? (0/0)

182018.765430 [[** MTHelper - AudioPacketReceived with ConfIndex 0 ] *************]

182018.814449 1076.006 silence: 2.0 frames

182018.831579 1076.023 silence: 1.0 frames

182018.923697 RTP: recv started(5CA83A6B,5CA83A6B)

182018.923748 RTPTransport: need to wait for SRTP to init? (0/0)

182018.923910 [[** MTHelper - VideoPacketReceived with ConfIndex 0 ] *************]

182018.979968 [[** MTHelper - Frame Received with ConfIndex 0 ] *************]

182018.980030 Decoding new stream: 352x288 'h263'

182020.459150 peakWeightIndex = 119

182020.924839 1078.116 -80 skip 128 -> 48

182021.323786 TANonInviteClientProc Thread end(0)...

182022.465309 peakWeightIndex = 35

182022.754502 RTPRexmitRTP rexmit packet (8426)

182022.754563 MQ_Rexmit iLastSN(00008428) wSN(8426) iSN(00008426)

182022.756569 Intra slice request from 0 - 160x120

182023.917722 1081.109 -80 skip 128 -> 48

182024.490638 peakWeightIndex = 35

182026.504643 peakWeightIndex = 69

182028.526069 peakWeightIndex = 35

182029.215899 Updating heartbeat from 192.168.1.107:5060 to 192.168.1.101:16402

182029.229892 1086.422 -80 skip 128 -> 48

182030.528157 peakWeightIndex = 35

182032.538916 peakWeightIndex = 35

182032.581413 RTPRexmitRTP rexmit packet (84D2)

182032.581440 MQ_Rexmit iLastSN(000084D4) wSN(84D2) iSN(000084D2)

182034.559770 peakWeightIndex = 35

182036.501844 Sending FIR(0)

182036.503966 Jitter Buffer Delta = 0.002126 secs

182036.578879 peakWeightIndex = 59

182038.606229 peakWeightIndex = 59

182040.608345 peakWeightIndex = 45

And its clearly visible here, that iChat downgrade the resolution down to 160x160 - just why? Why it suddenly shows so low connection speed and why it downgrades, while other clients on the other MBP and PB dont do that? Is there a way to force that?

Reply

Answer 6

Nov 15, 2011 12:27 PM in response to mekintosz

Hi,

iChat tries to balance several things.

1 the default size of the pic (and likely substitutes)

180222.785771 Default video size is (640 x 480)

180222.789544 H264: (640 x 480) @ 30 fps

180222.791225 H264: (320 x 240) @ 30 fps

180222.792963 H263: (352 x 288) @ 30 fps

180222.793847 H263: (176 x 144) @ 30 fps

This is worked out on the likely outcome of the Upload speed as this tends to be lower.

180223.256753 BWD: GotBandwidth: 859030/27090144 (up/down) @[101.1.168.192:0.255.255.255]

180223.256773 BWD bandwidth: 859 kbits up, 27090 kbits down.

The Apple stated minimum for a 4 way Video chat is 384kbps

Below this you will have dropped below the smallest size pic for your computer.

(Although it will then try adjusting the framerate as well).

The speed shown above does not seem to match the speed detailed later.

182016.843839 upstream_kbits = 2292, downstream_kbits = 2292

Which is nearly three times as fast.

The rest of the log is that iChat trying to adjust to a common demoninator

The incoming pic is much smaller and in h263 format

182018.980030 Decoding new stream: 352x288 'h263'

182020.459150 peakWeightIndex = 119

iChat is supposed to balance what you send out with what is incoming.

This does not mean that the Bitrates and frame rates need to be that close but it does mean a later version should not over run a older version being run on an older computer.

At the same time it should not "downgrade" the connection to a point that the a later version looks "bad".

iChat checks the bandwidth that is available twice.

Once when it starts up which it writes to the .plist and again during the Connection Process for the A/V chat.

Now we can clearly see the Speed available during the Chat as that is what the Logs report.

The 2292kbps is probably what ichat saw when this version started up when the other computers may not have been On line (and certainly not taking their portion for a Video chat)

I would consider deleting the com.apple.ichat.plist for the iChat 6 computer and restarting iChat to refresh what it can "See" of the internet connection.

I would also consider reducing the Bandwidth Limit setting (iChat Preferences > Video Section) to 500kbps to see if this "smooths" things out a bit.

8:27 PM Tuesday; November 15, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 7

mekintosz Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 15, 2011 2:45 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

OK, I've been messing around a little bit and I have found that connection doctor in iChat on 2011MBP was saying that something is wrong with my router (Linksys WAG200G). So I set the port forwarding rules to please the iChat and now when it says "full cone" I can talk with the second MacBook which uses separate HSDPA connection just fine at 640x480 at both ends. So one problem solved.

Now the situation looks like that:

2011 on home ADSL to 2006 MBP on HSDPA - fine

2006 MBP on HSDPA to PB on home ADSL - fine

2011 MBP on home ADSL to PB on home ADSL - still 160x120 on 2011's output (353x288 on PB).

So there's one more thing to work out and I will be happy 🙂

And going back to logs - while I was talking with the other MacBook at 640x480 at both ends few minutes ago, my computer was sending around 400 kbps while the other one was sending around 200kbps (according to Connection Doctor) so I suppose 2292kbps is sufficent enough to drive a full quality conversation between 2011MBP and PB G4, not only 160x120 + 352x288, but why it doesn't work...?

P.S. I've been playing with both "Bandwidth limit" and com.apple.iChat.plis many times without any effect.

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Answer 8

Nov 15, 2011 2:54 PM in response to mekintosz

Hi,

This is a bit like trying to compare speedometers in different cars when they are all supposed to be doing 70mph.

None of them are really likely to say the same speed although all will be making progress side by side at the same speed.

Thee is quite a wide field of speeds that iChat can use which will result in a successful chat.

It depends on Processor and Internet speed but can result in one end looking "slower" than the other in Bit rate but faster, due to smaller pic on frame rate.

Up until two weekends ago my main iChat computer was my G4/1Ghz Dual Processor.

It would always only do 15fps no matter who I connected to or what my Internet speed was (it has changed over the years from a 128kbps Upload (256kbps down) to currently 780kbps with a 8Mb download)

My Macbook Pro would manage 20fps in both iChat 4 and iChat 5.

At the end of the day it is about how each Chat negotiates with the Buddy about the abilities of both ends.

One connection of yours seems to fall on the lowest common denominator there is.

One thing I have not yet tried is iChat 6 to a version that does not do H264 protocol.

The streaming here is different and may explain the mismatch. I am not sure why they would remove this though (other than iChat 3 is some time ago).

I have a Tangerine Clamshell iBook with iGlasses (as it has no camera) that I can at least do One way Video to.

I can also boot the G4 in to Panther and try there as well.

10:54 PM Tuesday; November 15, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

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Answer 9

mekintosz Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 16, 2011 11:51 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Today I have a different problem. Suddenly I cant call the 2006Macbook from Powerbook (but I can from another powerbook, and I can make a call between 2011MBP and PB). The iChat just says that ther's a connection problem, and there's nothing suspicious in log.

I give up - is there maybe any less problematic ADSL2 router on the market cause I suppose that's again some port-related problem.

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Answer 10

Nov 16, 2011 12:08 PM in response to mekintosz

Hi,

Having had an Thomson-Alcatel 510 V4 and the Linksys router followed by Netgear combined device (DG824G) and currently a Sagem Fast2504 combined modem router that does WiFi there are things I liked about all of them.

The Thomson-Alcatel is the most difficult to set up.

Later firmware makes it virtually impossible to use these devices.

Linksys can vary depending if they have the Security tab and also whether that page also has the Firewall option (not all do)

Generally, set UPnP in the Administration Tab to On.

Set the Security tab to have the Firewall Off (if Present) as it includes DOS or SPI filters that can get in the way.

Also allow it to Respond to Anonymous Requests (these are incoming Pings and iChat sends Pings)

8:08 PM Wednesday; November 16, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply